Teklehaimanot, Kudus added to 2014 roster
10 October 2013, 17:42
Team MTN-Qhubeka is proud to welcome Daniel Teklehaimanot and Merhawi Kudus onto the team for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Teklehaimanot joins after spending two years on WorldTour team Orica-GreenEdge while Kudus will turn professional with the African outfit.
Hailing from Eritrea, a country fast becoming one of the strongest cycling nations, both men have already proved their worth, racing in Europe.
Kudus, just 19 years old, was discovered through the relationship with the UCI World Cycling Centre and has won four races this season in France, Italy and Eritrea. He also finished second on the general classification of Vuelta Ciclista a Leon.
Teklehaimanot is the more experienced of the two riders and last year became the first African rider of colour to complete a grand tour when he took part in the Vuelta a España.
“I’ve chosen this team because it’s an African team from home,” Teklehaimanot said.
“I’m very excited and am already thinking about next year and am preparing for it. I believe in my talent and myself.
"I was excited with Orica-Greenedge when I could go to a grand tour last year and that’s what I am looking forward to with Team MTN-Qhubeka now too.
“It just made sense to come to this team for Merhawi and I. He is a very strong climber and will do well in this team. I think African cycling is in a good place and the door is open to Europe like Daryl Impey showed everyone this year.
"There are strong teams out there but Team MTN-Qhubeka is getting stronger and stronger and this is a great project, not only the racing but the Qhubeka project too and I feel good that I can wear the jersey and promote Qhubeka.”
Team Principal, Douglas Ryder said that the team believes strongly in the two new signings.
"We’ve identified Merhawi as a massive talent for the future.He is a young rider but has shown maturity and ability beyond his years. African cycling is in a great place with Louis Meintjes finishing second in the under 23 road race at the world championships and Merhawi finishing 15th in the same event.
“We’ve brought Daniel on board to give him a leadership position as we believe his ability and talent deserves that. We’re investing heavily in all our athletes who are on the team and they’re not here because of anything else except that we believe in them.
"The fact that we’ve not lost any of our riders this year and are adding two African and one European to the roster speaks about our environment and belief in the fruits African cycling will bear on the world stage.”
Teklehaimanot and Kudus are the second and third additions to the team following the signing of Linus Gerdemann in recent weeks.
The make-up of the team as of now, is 17 African and seven European athletes.
http://www.supersport.com/cycling/sa-cycling/news/131010/Teklehaimanot_Kudus_added_to_2014_roster
Received on Thu Oct 10 2013 - 12:44:05 EDT